Short Summary

Temporary huts have been erected at the village of Cham Boeunrot, 12 kilometres (7 1/2 miles) north of Phnom Penh, the capital of the Khmer Republic, to house the large number of refugees arriving there.

Description

Temporary huts have been erected at the village of Cham Boeunrot, 12 kilometres (7 1/2 miles) north of Phnom Penh, the capital of the Khmer Republic, to house the large number of refugees arriving there.

The village is just one of many refugee camps which the Government has been setting up in the wake of the war in the country. More than a hundred families are now living there, and supplies for them have been arriving from Phnom Penh.

On Tuesday (2 October), the 570 refugees living at Cham Rosunrot, gathered to hear the governor of Phnom Penh, Mr. Untramuch, and other Government officials, call for greater self-sufficiency. The Governor and his officials were visiting the camp to distribute utensils under a new Government programme of self-help.

The refugees were given hoes, knives, small spades and buckets, with which it is hoped they will be able to plant and grow their own food.

On Thursday, the country's President, Lon Nol, ordered all men between the ages of 18 and 25 to report to their local authorities for a "certain period" of military service. If they failed to report within ten days they would be arrested.

On Friday, Government troops were engaged in a large-scale operation to drive two thousand Communist-led insurgents form the Prek Thnot river area, just south of the capital. The commander of the operation believed the Communists were planning to cross the river and mount a serious attack against Phnom Penh.

SYNOPSIS: Temporary huts are being put up in the village of Cham Roeonrot in the Khmer Republic, to house the hundreds of refugees that are arriving from all parts of their war-torn country. Help in the form of goods and materials are sent by the Government from Phnom Penh, the Khmer capital, about eight miles away.

On Tuesday, the five-hundred-and-seventy refugees living in the village, were visited by the Governor of Phnom Penh, Mr. Untramuch, and other officials. He impressed on them the need for self-sufficiency. In fact, much of the aid they receive from the Government consists of buckets, spades, hoes and knives, which will help them to grow their own food. The war situation still continues in the surrounding countryside, and the Government's resources are concentrated on that. On Thursday President Lon Nol announced the Government's second big conscription campaign since last July.